Hannon v. Schwartz

RONAN, Justice. The single question in this case is whether there was evidence that the defendant was in control of an awning, located in front of a store upon her premises, when the plaintiff, on August 6, 1935, while a pedestrian on the highway, came in contact with a chain attached to the awning. The defendant became the owner of these premises in 1931. They consisted of a store upon the first floor and tenements upon the second and third floors, the one on the second floor being occupied by the defendant. The store was leased to a tenant, in 1932, who put up some part of the awning but not the frame. This tenant quit the premises after an occupancy of four months and left the awning attached to the building. There were subsequent tenants of the store and at the time of the accident it was occupied by a tenant at will whose tenancy had commenced on January 3, 1935. There was evidence that for more than two years prior to the accident the awning had never been rolled up against the building, as required by the regulations of the building department of Boston, and that it extended over the sidewalk at a height of six and one half feet, which was lower by a foot than the height permitted by said regulations.